o'donnell later coached mitt romney and michele bachmann. they spent hours trying to replicate debate moments. >> you have the candidate stand in front of a podium like this as realistic as possible? >> yeah. you want a strong bearing, erect. look at colin powell. he commands the podium. it's like this. >> it's about making sure that you fill the stage more than your opponent does. >> the candidates practice debating stand-ins. for obama, john kerry's plays romney. rob portman plays obama. >> you never see videotape of this, not even pictures. >> no. there's a reason why. you don't want to show those vulnerable moments. >> we don't want to give away any component to our prep. >> in the 2000 campaign, one of mckinnon's secretaries gave prep video to the gore campaign. >> gore campaign went straight to the fbi. >> what happened to her? >> she went to prison for a year. >> what's so secret? i pretended to be a candidate. limited government -- >> just limited government. what kind of limits are you talking about? can you be specific. >> yes, i c